The Rescue
by pikachu464
Summary: After Ikkaku leaves to fight Aizen, his wife Esme's kingdom is attacked and she's taken hostage. Ikkaku then has to go save her against the Head Captain's orders. Squeal to 'Forbidden Love Chronicles' written by Lady1Venus


**Info**: A Bleach 2 or 3 shot. This is a IkkakuxOC fic. Ikkaku leaves his wife, Esmeralda right after they are married to go on a mission to the World of the living. While gone, Esme's kingdom is attacked. She is then found by Sosuke Aizen. He tells her he will kill Ikkaku unless she comes with him. She agrees and goes with Aizen to Hugo Mundo. When Ikkaku gets back he finds her gone and gets his closest friends together to go rescue her as at first Head Captain forbids them going. Sequal to the story,'Forbidden Love Chronicles' written by Lady1Venus.

_Part 1 of 2/3_

**Credit**: Thank you Lady1Venus for helping me with the details and beta reading.

It had been weeks since Ikkaku and Esmeralda, now Queen of the East District, had gotten a proper wedding. The two had secretly gotten married because of their love but it was soon discovered shortly after their union. When their union was discovered, Head Captain Yamamoto wanted to strip Ikkaku of his title and banish him from the Seireitei, but Esme wasn't going to let that happen. With her being a royal, she had ways of getting around the old man, including the trade agreement, which the Head Captain was not too impressed with that. If the East District pulled out of their treaty with the Seireitei, war would soon follow and that was something the Soul Reapers could not afford, therefore Ikkaku was given the blessing of his union to the Princess and was able to remain a Soul Reaper.

With that now settled, Ikkaku now had the pleasure of having two homes. He would spend his days off with his wife in her castle, much to her parents' dismay, but they too were forced to give their blessings as Esme pulled the same trick on them as with Yamamoto. Yachiru still continued to tease him when he was in the Seireitei and to him she was doubling her teasing efforts to make up when he wasn't around.

Once the secret was fully out, a proper wedding was organized and their union became one of joy uniting the Seireitei and the East District to a permanent alliance. No longer would threats be thrown to either side. With the big wedding came the carnation of Esmeralda's father stepping down, thus crowning her Queen.

One particular morning when Ikkaku was in his second home, Esme's palace, Esmeralda woke to finding the opposite side of the bed empty. However, the space hadn't been emptied long as the slight warmth of her partner was still within the sheets. The sounds of running water suddenly stopping from the bathroom had her realizing he was having a shower. Moments later, Ikkaku emerged from the bathroom dressed in a bathrobe.

"Why are you up so early?" She questioned.

"Since you've made a doorway to the Seireitei be permanently opened, a hell butterfly ended up waking me up. I have a mission by the Head Captain. Aizen is finally on the move in the World of the Living. Me, along with a few others have been ordered to go check it out," he stated. Strolling over to the dresser, he pulled out one of the drawers, snatching a freshly cleaned and pressed shihakusho.

"How long will you be gone this time?" she asked, heart plummeting. This was the one thing she was dreading since the day she married him.

"Could be a few weeks to a few months," he answered truthfully.

"You'll be gone for a few months!" Esmeralda squeaked, jumping up from the bed, hands on her hips.

"It can't be helped, Esme. These are Head Captain's orders," Ikkaku insisted as he got dressed. "And you knew this could happen since the day you married me."

"I know, but I had wished it wouldn't have happened so soon," she argued. She didn't want him to leave but she knew he had to. An idea popped suddenly in her mind. If she could delay him, he can't be blamed. "Oh well, guess we can have fun when you get back."

Getting up, Esme stepped past him, heading over in grabbing a dress from the closet. As she did so, she tried to entice him by swaying her hips as she went. Ikkaku's eyes snapped towards her for a moment before suddenly finding something more interesting on a wall to his left. He had to keep his eyes off her or else he would be late and he couldn't afford that. And he couldn't afford another shower, though it would be a cold one this time.

Seeing he wasn't going to fall for her seductive move, she frowned, heading to the bathroom to take her shower. If he was going to leave, she was damn well going to be sure to see him. After she was done in the shower, she met up with Ikkaku at the gates to the palace. The doorway to the Seireitei was nearby a tree, which could only be accessed by either Hell Butterflies or by a password, which only a selected few Soul Reapers had.

"I'll be going now," he said, giving his farewell.

"Please be careful, Ikkaku." In her hand she was playing with a bracelet she often wore. "There's something I want to give you." She held out her hand revealing a charm bracelet. Its always brought me luck." Without giving him time to protest, she was quick to wrap it around his wrist.

He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again. Giving a gentle smile, this wasn't normal for him to do, his hand lifted up to rest against the side of her cheek. "Thank you, Esme. I'll take good care of it. And I'll come back safe. I promise," he said. He quickly pushed her forward, locking lips with hers. His arms wrapped around hers, pulling her tight against his chest. In turn hers wrapped around his neck, trying to hold onto that kiss for as long as possible. It would be the last kiss for some time. The two remained lip locked until the need to break for air called to them. Ikkaku rubbed her cheek, then turned and flash stepped away, heading to the tree line where the doorway was.

Saddened by his departure, Esmeralda turned, heading back into the palace. She couldn't believe it, Aizen was now on the move! She prayed Ikkaku would return safe and sound, like he promised. With nothing else to do, she went up to her room, pulling out a book, feeling the urge to read. It was one of the books her husband had brought back after returning from the World of the Living, during one of his visits there.

The first week Ikkaku was gone, Esme mopped around, worried but often finding anything to do, to distract her mind. Of course she was always worried when her husband was away on dangerous assignments. Each time he left, she was scared he wouldn't return back to her… alive. But that came with the job of being a Soul Reaper. Soul Reapers had risky jobs and though Ikkaku was her husband, he was no exception. He was a Soul Reaper and part of his job entitled to put his life on the line for the sake of others.

With a sigh, she decided to take a leisure walk through the gardens to try and relax her mind. Before long, she came up on a patch of purple flowers. Bending down in front of it, she stretch her fingers out, feeling the soft texture of the pedals. "Oh, Ikkaku." A few tears fell from her eyes.

There she remained until one of her ladies in wait found her. The woman took her Queen back inside since evening was approaching. Esme never did anything to stop her personal assistant from assisting her back into the palace where the woman then had gotten the help to help Esme out of her daytime dress and into her evening wear.

Later that night Esme was woken abruptly up by a guard who was vigorously shaking her awake. "Your Majesty. We have to get you out of here."

"What's going on?" Esmeralda moaned tiredly as she opened her eyes, rubbing them.

"Sosuke Aizen and his troops are attacking the palace. Please, we must get you to..." His words were cut off as his body slumped to the floor in a heap. A pool of his own blood was forming around him, indicating he was now dead.

From behind the guard walked in Aizen, himself. A smug look was plastered on his face as he faced two more guards.

"You are a bastard!" The guards cried, running at the evil man, not knowing what he was fully capable of.

"Your Majesty, RUN!" Another guard shouted.

Eyes of terror glanced at the man dead on the floor and then to the man at the door. Too terrified to release a scream but also knew better than that as well, Esme was quick to nod, tears running down her cheeks as she jumped up, grabbing her robe and ran towards the back exit of her room, out into the hallway, barefoot.

She only made it three steps in the hallway before slamming into a hard body. It took her only mere seconds to realize someone was blocking her path. Looking up, her eyes widened once again in fright.

"Aizen!" she cried, stepping back. "What happened to my guards?"

"My dear," he said with that same smug look. "What does it look like? I killed them of course. They were in the way."

"Damn ass bastard!" Esmeralda concentrated, calling her staff to her, getting ready to fight Aizen.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned, voice never faltering from the gentleness he always had.

"And why shouldn't I kill you? You just attacked my kingdom, killing innocent people. And you did it for what? Just so you could get to me!" She snarled in anger.

"No one would have died if they had only cooperated with me in the first place. Besides, it's Ikkaku who will suffer most if you try and kill me. If you don't come along quietly, I'll make sure Ikkaku suffers a slow, yet very painful death," Aizen smirked. "And I'll be sure you watch every single moment of it. I will start with removing every single finger from his hand, preventing him from being able to use his Zanpakuto." Esmeralda gasped in shock, tears silently falling as unwatched horrifying pictures of being tortured entered her mind. Lowering her head, she dropped her staff, submitting herself to him.

"Now that's a good girl," he said. "Now, walk towards me and no one else in your palace will be harmed."

She slowly nodded, taking slow steps towards him. He held his hand out to her, grasping her arm.

"Gin, grab her staff. I wish to learn more about its power."

Esme looked up just as a tall lean man walked out of the shadows. He had long fingers and his jaw was narrow. But that wasn't what made her body shake. His cocky grin and slanted eyes caused her knees to wobble from where she stood. If not for Aizen now holding her, she would have collapsed. She watched as the tall man picked up her staff just as another guard ran towards them.

"NO! Don't do it your majesty!" the guard cried out, but it was too late. A doorway to Heuco Mundo was already opened and Aizen was stepping through it with Esme in his clutches. The one known as Gin was swift to follow, carrying the Elven woman's staff.

Once arriving in Las Noches, Aizen turned to Gin. "There's a room all set up for, take her there. I'm sure she'll find it comfortable enough. And Esmeralda, you're not to leave that room, unless given permission. You're my guest and you wouldn't want to be caught wondering around. My followers may just want to kill you if they find you. There are a lot of Arrancars who would kill you against my wishes."

He began to turn away as Gin grabbed her arm, about ready to pull her towards her assigned chambers.

"Oh and one more thing," Aizen said, stopping but didn't fully turn back in her direction. "There on the bed is a suitable outfit. Be sure to put it on. It will help to protect you better while you're here." Aizen then turned and walked away.

Gin gave her one of his wide smiles as he released her arm, grabbing her hand instead. He then led her down the hallway, leading to a flight of stairs.

"Ow! Would you not pull so damn hard!?" Esmeralda cried out as they descended down the stairs.

"Sorry," Gin apologized. Seeing as she wasn't going to go anywhere, as she didn't have flash step, he loosened his grip on her a bit and started walking a bit slower. If she did try to escape, he could be on her faster than she could take 20 steps from him.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, they entered another long hallway. Before long they arrived at a door. Gin pulled out a key. "This is where you will be staying. A workable bathroom facility is attached to your room, fully equipped with everything you need, including a door for privacy. Meals will be provided for you when you're hungry so you need not worry about anything. And remember what Lord Aizen said. You must dress in the clothes given, which reside on the bed. Now, I'll just unlock the door and then I'll lock you inside and..."

She turned to him, confused. "If you both already knew I was just going to be locked in a room, why go through all the fuss in giving a warning of not to go wondering about? I can't even get out of my room to attempt that," she wondered.

"Just in case you decided to find other ways to get out, like saying using magic," he explained, smile never faltering.

"Gin," she said, remembering his name being mentioned, "I can't use my magic. You got my staff, remember."

"Oh that's right!" he smirked, snapping his fingers in a mocking gesture. "How could I forget."

'He's toying with me!' Esme yelled in her head.

Gin opened the door, allowing her to walk in the room. She wasn't fully in the room three seconds when the metal door closed behind her and she could hear it lock. She turned to the door, glaring at it.

"Asshole!" she yelled for no other reason but to release some frustration of the prediction she was now in. Those jerks killed some of her most trusted guars at the palace. They had been guards for countless many years and now they were gone. But right now was no time to grieve over their loss.

The scream out of her system, she turned, taking a look around her room. The first thing she noticed was a white colored dress type outfit with black trimming on the bed. With a frown, she walked over to the bed, picking up the garment, giving it a good look. She didn't want to put the dress on, but she had a feeling if she didn't comply Aizen would do something she wouldn't like.

"Thank goodness he locked the door." She then took off her nightclothes, putting the dress on. At the bottom of the bed was a set of black boots with white lining right up the center and around the bottom edges.

As she put the boots, she could feel the material of the clothing rubbing against her skin. The material was like nothing she felt before but it also wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear either, but it was better than some clothing she heard people complain about. She then picked up her nightclothes, folding them and then placed them over inside of a nearby nightstand at the bed. She had a feeling she wouldn't have a need for here nightclothes for a while.

With nothing more to do, Esme decided to check out the rest of the room. On one wall, there was a lone window, revealing desert outside. Wanting a closer a look, she peered through the window as best as she could. Everything was dark and pale like from an old black and white movie she watched with Ikkaku when they were on their honeymoon in the World of the Living. Another thing she noticed was the crescent moon in the sky.

"It's so dark here. But...it was morning when I left my kingdom." She quickly closed the black colored drapes from around her window, blocking out the eerie view. The view outside was seriously freaking her out.

Turning away, she then turned her attention to the room itself. The room had blue carpet but was surprisingly was very soft to the touch. Over in one the corner of the room was a huge queen sized vanity bed complete with pale pink nylon feel curtains. The curtains were draped around black poles from each corner of the bed. White pillows donned on top of the bed over top dark colored sheets.

Next to the bed stood a huge brown oak colored wardrobe closet, which was a bit taller than her. Wanting to take a peek inside, she pulled open the doors, revealing the closet full of clothes like what she was wearing. With closer inspection, they were matching dresses to what she was wearing. With a heavy sigh, the realization of her being trapped there was very well planned and thought out, including giving her things she would need to last her for awhile.

Closing the closet, she went back over to her bed and was about to take a seat when something on the wall over her bed caught her attention. "Wait a minute! What the heck!" She noticed a tiny black box with a button on it and what appeared to be a speaker above it. Curious on what it was, Esme went over and pressed the button, wanting to know what it would do.

"Yes?" Came Gin's voice out of the speaker.

She jumped; startled by hearing his mocking toned voice through the speaker. "How is your voice coming out of this thing?" She asked him.

"Well, it's an intercom. Whenever you press that button it will connect you to me through a communicator I carry around. It's there in case you need anything. Lord Aizen appointed me as your caretaker after all," he explained. "Do you need anything?"

She shivered, not liking his voice. "No, that's ok. Not yet anyway." She pressed the button again, turning it off, not wanting to hear his creepy voice. "That guy really freaks me out, big time. And he's supposed to be my caretaker. What is Aizen thinking?!" Knowing she wasn't going to get an answer, she decided to go take a hot bath to calm down her nerves. But she knew that would not fully happen. She couldn't see Ikkaku and she wanted his arms around her.

As she entered the bathroom, she looked around. The bathroom was larger than her bedroom, which was quite strange in her opinion. There was a huge linen closet along one wall with more than just linens. Along another wall was a large bathtub, big enough to fit for two people easily with a glass door shower nearby. A towel rack was hanging between the tub and shower with a towel on it. Of course there was a fancy toilet as well. The walls were white bricked and the floor was stone gray and hard rock.

Feeling safe in the room, Esmeralda stripped and grabbed a washcloth from the linen closet as she turned on the warm water and got into the huge tub. Once it was filled up she laid back to try and relax, but her mind drifted to Ikkaku. A few tears ran down her face, realizing she may never see him again.

After nearly thirty minutes of washing and relaxing she got out of the tub, draining the dirty water. She then dried off and put on a robe, which was provided for her. She took her dress she had on for only a few minutes and went out into the other room to redress once again. She then laid back on her back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling deep in thought and eventually fell asleep.

Sitting in his throne room, Aizen was surrounded by Gin and Kaname. The three were there discussing plans about attacking the World of the Living. With them now having Ikkaku's wife, Aizen believed he now had the perfect solution in having the Soul Society surrender.

"Are the preparations ready?" Aizen wondered, looking between his two colleages.

"Yes, everything is in order, Lord Aizen," said Kaname with a bow to Aizen. "Szayel only needs the test subject."

"Perfect," Aizen said with a relaxed smile. "It does make me wonder how Captain Zaraki reacted to when his own Third Seat went behind his back and married a Princess."

"Injustice," Kaname responded. "How the Head Captain would allow Ikkaku Madarame to remain Soul Reaper while being married to a Monarch, it is completely beyond me."

Aizen looked to the blind man. "You can thank our special guest for that. She used her Monarchy power, preventing the Head Captain from being able to do anything. There is a trade agreement between her kingdom and the Seireitei."

"Speaking of which," Gin interrupted. "She has found the intercom and contacted me by mistake. I believe by now she's comfortably resting, since there's nothing else for her to do."

"I think she's slept long enough then," Aizen said. "It might best to get this done and over with now."

"Shall I go get her, my lord?" Called a voice. From out of the shadows stepped Ulquiorra, Espada number four. He was a tall man with a lean body build. Even his arms were long and lean fingers. His skin was very pale with black streaks down his cheeks starting from his eyes. He had green eyes which went well with his black hair. His Hollow mask rest against one part of his head.

"You might just scare her, Ulquiorra," Kaname told him. He was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Kaname has a point there. She has only seen me and Gin. Let Gin go get her," said the man from the chair sitting high above them.

"Do you have to do this? It seems such a shame, to harm such a beautiful creature." Gin's smile widen. He didn't have to smile, but it was something he just loved to do even when he wasn't teasing others. Deep in his mind he knew time was running short and his own plan had to soon be implemented.

"I have yet to even lay eyes on the woman. But I don't think she's that pretty," said Kaname. "She's an Elf. She comes from the same land as Sajin and you tell me he's a large Wolf."

"Oh, trust me, she is," Gin smiled. "I've heard Elves are very graceful."

"Gin, enough. Go get Esmeralda and bring her to the laboratory. I'll be waiting there." Aizen got up from his chair and went to leave the room.

"You wish to watch?" Kaname questioned. "Why do you need to watch? If you don't mind me asking. I will not be there to watch such torture."

"Why? Because, it'll be very amusing and entertaining." Aizen had a wide smirk on his face as he turned and left the room acting like a little kid in a candy store. Now that he was no longer in the Soul Society, he could act the way he wanted to. He hated having to play 'nice guy' with everyone when he just wanted to get rid of them all. Though playing the 'good guy' is what allowed him the ability to fool Momo so easily and now, from what he heard, she was still in Squad 4, healing from the injuries inflicted on her. He knew she loved him, and he exploited that.

With a few hours sleep, Esmeralda's sleep was abruptly disturbed when the sound of her door being pushed opened loudly woke her up. Moments later an arm forcefully grabbed hers, forcing her eyes to open wide, revealing Gin yanking her out of bed. His forever smirk was in place, never faltering.

"Where are you taking me?" she yelled.

He never answered her just continued dragging her down halls, until coming to what looked like a set of doors to a lab of sorts. Stopping just in front of the doors, he looked at her and then brought his face verey close to her ear. "I wish you no harm but…"

Something was jabbed into her side, causing a small yelp from her. He then continued to pull her into the room where she was then confronted by a man with pink hair and glasses for a Hollow mask. He gave her a smile, which was one that seemed a bit more creepier than even Gin's.

"So this is the test subject," the man said.

"Test subject! What does he mean by that!?" she yelled, turning her attention to Aizen.

"You'll see," Aizen grinned, giving a wicked look. He looked to Gin. "Have her lay on the table, Gin."

"Table…" she breathed as her terrified eyes looked over to a table near the strange man. Her heart lept into her throat, eyes full of terror. The worse thought imaginable suddenly swam through her mnd. She was about to be gang raped.

She tried her hardest to struggle against Gin's grip. She tried to dig her heels into the floor, but that didn't nothing for her. She barely noticed as the man near the table stepped out of the way as she was forcefully pulled up on the table, lying on her stomach. Hot tears brimmed her eyes as even more fears entered her mind.

"Szayel, I believe Gin is having some trouble. Help strap her down," Aizen commanded.

Szayel gave a slight bow before going over to the other side of the table, pulling her arms to rest them in place where she would be shackled. In the meantime Gin tried to grab her legs to shackle them as well but she was kicking wildly, nearly kicking him in the face. One foot actually caught him up by the top of his head.

Once her wrists were secure, laying outward as if she was flying like a bird, Szayel moved to the other side to assist Gin. He was easily able to grab one foot as Gin finally caught the other. Together the two shackled her legs down. She immediately stopped struggling, noticing her body was pinned down in a normal position to be raped. So she wasn't about to be raped… but then what were they about to do?

She turned her head, noticing Aizen moved to stand by the table. When did he move from being against the wall from when she entered the room? He gave her another evil smirk. The look he gave suddenly sent shivers down her spine. She was completely helpless and frightened and she could see he found that quite amusing. Esme gulped a few times in fear.

Her fear tripled as two other strange men walked in carrying very thick low sharp knives. She had no idea the two were known as Arrancar doctors. Sweat began to form on Esme's body. "W...What are you planning to do with those?"

Aizen stepped into her line of vision, preventing her from seeing the men. "Why they are going to perform surgery," he grinned. He looked up. "Now, cut the tattoo off her back. I need it."

"What!" Esme's eyes went wide in fear. "N..no! Please! Please don't!" Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "There's got to be another way."

Aizen shrugged. "I'm sure there is. But this is the best effective way to have it removed. Besides…" he looked away for a moment before turning his brown eye gaze back to her. "You're in no position to ask for anything. You can plea with me all you want. It won't do you any good. I warned you if you told anyone about the marking, you'd be punished. But now, I'm in need of the power within the marking."

He stepped away from her, allowing the doctors to close in around her. "Gag her," he ordered. "Don't need her screams echoing throughout Las Noches."

No sooner said, something was crammed into her mouth as the sounds of ripping fabric was torn from her back, exposing her entire back from shoulders to waist. She openly sobbed as she felt the tips of the blades touch her back near her shoulder blades. She tried to scream as the cold blades then tracked down her back, creating a long cut, blood immediately oozing out from the wound.

Over behind Aizen stood Gin, who was no longer holding a smile. His eyes were even opened more, revealing the color of them. Held tightly in his hand was a small syringe. Before getting Esmeralda, Gin stopped by Szayel's lab, snatching the needle. Gin knew the woman was going to be in extreme pain and he didn't want her to be. So preventing that from happening, he poked her side, pumping her with a drug. He had hoped it would take affect soon. It was breaking his heart seeing her suffering like that.

Her screams continued to echo throughout the room she felt the sickening pain run though her back as her skin was cut clean off, blood dripping from the lab table onto the floor, creating puddles. Worst of all since she was gagged, she couldn't properly scream out in terror. With each passing second, the pain became stronger and stronger. In the meantime, Aizen grinned, watching the horrific scene unfold. His grin grew wider as her flesh was torn from her back, revealing the tender muscles beneath.

Eventually the pain seemed to be too much for her and her screaming ceased. Her body went completely limp as her head dropped to the table. However, what no one knew was the drug Gin gave her finally kicked in, forcing her to subcom to darkness. But it worked as if she passed out from the pain.

"Miscalucation," Aizen said with a smile. "She was supposed to be awake for entire surgery."

The doctors stopped for a moment, looking to their Lord. "My Lord?"

"I didn't say for you to stop," Aizen stated. "I want that off her and need it now. Her pain is magnifying the power and if you don't get it off her soon, the power will drain."

The doctors looked at one another and continued where they left off. Aizen stepped closer to the table, resting his hand on her head. "If only she had cooperated better and then her suffering wouldn't be so bad," he said with a smug look knowing full well she wouldn't have cooperated in any sort of fashion and he needed her awake in order to get the full effect of being able to remove tattoo from her back. Her pain was essential to the removal. Soon enough the removal of the marking was gone.

It was placed into a container with water in it for safe keeping where Szayel then looked to his Lord. "Would you like me to kill her?"

Aizen looked at the Elven woman. "No. She's still useful for now. She'll be the perfect bait for my trap. Ikkaku will want her back and will do anything to get her, probably even go against the Head Captain himself which then the old man will send a few Captains here to Hueco Mundo to help save her, leaving the World of the Living defenseless as less than half the Captains will be defending the world." He then smirked again. "She also can unlock the Hogyoku for me."

He stepped away from the table, going over to where Esme's flesh was secured in a jar. "Finally, I have the secret of the Hollows! Now no one can stop me!" He then turned to the doctors. "Now, regenerate her back."

Gin sighed in relief as the doctors then began to heal Esmeralda. His eyes returned back to slits as his grin returned, watching her back regrow fresh new skin. He was very relieved to see that. With a glance, he noticed a vile with the label of pain killer. Seeing as no one was watching him, his hand carefully reached over, snatching it and then grabbed for another needle.

Once the procedure was complete and Esme's back was fully regenerated, Aizen ordered Gin to take their guest back to her room. With a curt nod, Gin did as he was told. He unshackled her hands and feet and carefully rolled her over into his arms, being very careful not to allow her torn dress to reveal any of her body to any eye. With carefullness, Gin returned Esme back to her room, being gentle in resting her on her bed.

"I wish you well," he whispered to her unconscious form, filling the needle with the vile he stole. "This will help with the pain, I promise." He then injected her once again before quickly leaving her, being sure to lock the door behind him. He may be under Aizen's control, but he still had his own mind.

"What! What do you mean Esmeralda's been kidnapped by Aizen!?" Ikkaku yelled at Head Captain Yamamoto, through a large like TV set, set up in Orihime's apartment. He along with Yumichika, Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Renji, Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad and Uryu. "I don't believe it! It can't be true!"

"Then why not go see for yourself," said Yamamoto. "Your wife was reported taken from the palace. Many guards were killed."

"That's just what I'm going to do!" Ikkaku turned and left slamming the door on his way out.

Yumichika cringed from the crash of the door against the wooden frame.

Ichigo turned back to Yamamoto. "She's been captured and you're just sitting there doing nothing!"

"Our forces aren't strong enough yet to take on Aizen," the old man said with a sigh.

"Captain Yamamoto, every single one of us in this room has met and bonded with Queen Esmeralda. I'm not just going sit back and doing nothing! I'm going to rescue her!" Ichigo demanded. Suddenly a doorway to the Soul Society appeared in the room. Doors slid open, revealing Byakuya and Kenpachi. Ichigo looked over, shocked, "Byakuya!? Kenpachi!?"

"You will do no such thing. As for the rest of you, you're to return, right away," Yamamoto ordered.

"But..." Rukia started.

"That's an order! Over and out." Yamamoto's face then vanished as the screen went blank.

"Well, you heard the orders. Let's go" said Toshiro. He turned and started walking out of the apartment, Rangiku following him.

"Well, I'm not giving up like that. He may be able to tell you to stay out of it, but not us. We're not from the Soul Society. And Esmeralda's our friend! We're rescuing her! Right guys!" Ichigo yelled.

"I'm with you Ichigo," said Uryu. "They can't do that to a friend and get away with it."

"Are you sure? I thought your father didn't want you to associate with Soul Reapers," Ichigo told him.

"Well, technically you're not a Soul Reaper, Ichigo. You're a substitute Soul Reaper. You're not really a Soul Reaper, so it doesn't count." Uryu pushed up his glasses as he said that.

"I guess I'll come too. You guys will need more backup," said Chad.

Ichigo grinned and turned to Orihime, "What about you, Orihime?"

"I...I don't know. I'd probably just get in the way. Maybe I shouldn't." Orihime looked a bit upset as she said that.

"You have to come, Orihime. We need you. Your powers are amazing," Ichigo told her.

Orihime looked up at Ichigo smiling, "Y...You really think so? Ok, I'll come then."

In the East District, in the Soul Society, Ikkaku arrived at his kingdom to see it in shambles. Squad Four was there tending to all the injured people that had been hurt in the fight. Ikkaku's eyes went wide in fear and he rushed up to the castle running though the broken down gates and inside calling out, "Esme! ESME! Where are you?!"

He ran though the palace and up to his and his wife's bedchambers. What awaited him inside the room was just awful! "NO!" He cried out. There was blood everywhere in the room and everything was threw about and broken. It looked like a war zone in here. Even the bed was ripped all to pieces. Ikkaku sank down to the floor in defeat, onto his knees sobbing, hitting the floor with his fists, "Damn! Don't worry if it takes every fiber of my being, I promise I will get you back."

As Ikkaku was exiting the palace though a hell butterfly came up to him and spoke in Yamamoto's voice, "Ikkaku you're to return to the Seireitei at once. There's nothing that can be done right now."

"I'm sorry Head Captain I can't," said Ikkaku.

"Are you disobeying orders?" He questioned him.

"This time yes, I am. Esme is my wife. I love her," Ikkaku explained.

"You do realize by disobeying me you could be striped of your rank right?" Said the old man. "Do you hear me Ikkaku! Get back here at once or I'll..." He was cut off as Ikkaku destroyed the hell butterfly.

"There are some things more important than being a Soul Reaper. Worth even my life, I should say. Even if it kills me, Esme... I WILL BRING YOU BACK SAFELY!" Ikkaku vowed as the hell butterfly was crushed in his hand.


End file.
